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Captain Matthew Clutterbuck, who has young children of his own, has named his travel companion Shackleton after another famous intrepid explorer.

He’s even taken a photo of the bear perched in the cockpit high above the clouds.

The pilot said: “I have two young children of my own who both have soft toys which have to go everywhere, so I can understand how attached children are to their favourite toys and so know how distraught children can be when they lose them and just how stressful it can be for the parents as a result!

“Hopefully with a bit of momentum behind the search on social media we’ll be able to give the child somewhere a late Christmas present.”

Teddy bear Shackleton who is on a quest to be reunited with its owner after getting left behind on a plane

Teddy bear Shackleton who is on a quest to be reunited with its owner after getting left behind on a plane

Teddy bear Shackleton who is on a quest to be reunited with its owner after getting left behind on a plane

It was last month when the Easyjet pilot arrived at his aircraft early one morning for a routine day’s flying and glanced into the cabin to see the sad-looking bear staring back at him from the aisle floor.

He knew the challenge had been set.

Seemingly dropped or left behind, from the last flight of the previous day, the bear must have been lost during the rush to disembark.

Until Shackleton is claimed Capt Clutterbuck is flying around the airline’s network with the bear, taking pictures of him in the destinations he flies to and keeping a log book of his travels.

So far the bear’s been to Reykjavik, Copenhagen, Belfast and Bordeaux among other stops.

The bear was most likely left on the Bordeaux to Luton flight on December 20.

The airline has taken to social media with a series of tweets with the hashtag #GetShackletonHome and Facebook posts in the hope of finding its owner.